The Wade Hampton Monument is located in front of the South Carolina State House on the Sumter Street side. Wade Hampton was born on March 28, 1818 in Charleston but lived the majority of his life in Richland County. He attended South Carolina College and served as a member of the state legislature before the Civil War began. Hampton did not support the idea of the south seceding, but he chose to support the Confederacy once the war started. He rose through the ranks to lieutenant general and was regarded as a talented horseman. After the war, Hampton served as governor of South Carolina and as a United States Senator for a combined total of 21 years. As governor, he was an outspoken critic of Reconstruction and became known as the "Savior of South Carolina" for challenging federal policy. He was supported by a group known as the "Red Shirts", who suppressed the black vote and killed up to 50 blacks during Hampton's victorious governor race. The statue was erected in 1906 and is situated in front of the Wade Hampton State Office Building. It is an equestrian statue, or a statue of …show more content…
The work effectively fulfills the purpose of the commissioners of the work, which was to have the viewer recognize Hampton as a Confederate general and make him seem like a larger-than-life man. However, Hampton was not as noble as the statue makes him out to be and was actively involved in discriminatory activity towards blacks during his lifetime. As a result, I believe that it is necessary for the state to continue considering the impact that statues, such as the Wade Hampton Monument, have in alienating citizens because of race. If it were my decision, I would say that the state needs to continue on the path of moving on from its heavily racist past by reconsidering the placement of monuments such as this on grounds that are supposed to belong to everyone in South